


Five Things Greg Serrano Missed About West Covina (And The One Thing He Didn't)

by poolsidescientist



Category: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (TV)
Genre: Angst and Humor, Bittersweet, Five Times, Gen, Nostalgia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-24 17:41:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9776828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poolsidescientist/pseuds/poolsidescientist
Summary: Five things Greg missed about West Covina and one thing he didn't. Exactly what it says on the tin.





	1. Bruno

**Author's Note:**

> I just watched Crazy Ex-Girlfriends and have a lot of thoughts and feeling about the show, especially Greg. Obviously I had to write something. I do not own the series and I appreciate all and any feedback. Updates will be sporadic because grad school is a lot of work but I'll do my best.

It was all Brakes’ fault. If anyone was to blame for Greg’s nostalgia it was Guardrail’s friend Barry’s boyfriend and his obsession with cat videos. The actuarial biker and former alcoholic had somehow dug into the depths of the internet to find Hector’s youtube account. As it turned out, not only was Hector continuing that creepy podcast with his mother, but also filming videos featuring his cat Bruno.

Greg had left Bruno with Hector when he moved to Atlanta. Hector’s mom loved cats and Greg trusted her to take care of him. If he had given the cat to white Josh, the poor animal would be living off protein powder and Josh Chan would have lost him within a week.

He knew watching those videos was a bad idea, but as usual, Greg was a glutton for punishment. Which ended up turning into three hours of watching Hector teach Bruno how to do flips and more videos about how Bruno ran away whenever he smelled alcohol. The poor cat was clearly traumatized. He had traumatised his cat. As if Greg needed another reminder about his terrible life choices. Both of them were getting their lives together. Bruno had a happy home where nobody puked on him, and Greg had gone back to school and finally gotten out of West Covina. Everything was working out for the best.

Still, Greg couldn’t help but remember all those mornings waking up hungover to Bruno licking last night’s vomit off of his face. No matter how shitfaced he got, Bruno would always be there for him in the morning. Staring sadly at the trainwreck that was his owner. Greg missed that kind of solidarity. Skyping with Hector and Bruno was always an option, it wouldn’t kill him to keep in touch.


	2. Taco Festivals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, chapter two. I own nothing except my headcannons. Feedback, both positive and negative is always welcome.

If there was one thing Greg Serrano had learned from his years as a bartender, it was that nostalgia always came at a cost. A very painful cost that he was now paying in full. Six hours and fourteen trips to the bathroom later, he was officially out of toilet paper and self-respect.

Stupid as it seemed, he missed tacos. Specifically, the pulled pork tacos served at the famed West Covina Taco Festival. The only objectively good thing about his home town. Greg hadn’t realized how much he missed them until he caught a whiff of the familiar scent from a food truck near campus. Some of his classmates had warned him about the lax food safety practices of that particular truck but since when did Greg listen to good advice? The pork tacos might have smelled a little tainted, but they looked and tasted good. Looks can be terribly deceiving. Slumped over his toilet in discomfort, Greg felt anything but good.

He had underestimated his classmates and overestimated his immune system. Never a good combination. Listening to people had never been his forte. But he was improving thanks to his friends at Alcoholics Anonymous. Greg hadn’t had a single drink since he came to Atlanta. Drinking was for West Covina. Hopefully something he never had to face again. And yet sometimes good memories bubbled up to the surface too. Small things that made him miss home. Like tacos. But tacos made Greg sick, just like West Covina would if he ever went back. He still hated the town, not just the town, but everything it represented.

He felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He had a meeting tonight. Greg would have to tell them he couldn’t make it, and maybe beg Barry to pick him up some more toilet paper. Greg pulled out the phone, which slipped out from his sweaty hands into the toilet bowl. Great. He tried to turn around to see how far gone his phone was and accidentally flushed the toilet by jerking his elbow. Greg felt as though he was hungover, if not worse. No more tacos, he decided. No more nostalgia.


	3. Dad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, the halfway mark in this story. I do not own Crazy Ex-Girlfriend but I do appreciate feedback.

“So Mildred used to be a gymnast back in the day, you can really tell. She has some amazing moves. Just last night-” Marco Serrano bragged through the phone. A new phone. To replace the one Greg had flushed down the toilet during his taco fiasco.

“That’s nice dad, I really need to know every detail of your sex life.”

“Details? You wanna know details Gregory? Well Carol-”

“Dad I’m in the library and it’s packed. Everyone here is trying to study for midterms. I don’t think I’ve slept in two days! I haven’t left this building in three!” Greg snapped in frustration as the students around him gave him dirty looks, “I’m sorry dad, I’m glad to hear you’re doing well. I forgot how much work school was. I’m not as smart as I thought I was, not even close.” Greg lamented, he had a splitting headache.

“Gregory, have you been drinking?” His father asked after a brief but awkward silence.

“No dad, no alcohol, just a ridiculous amount of coffee and the occasional energy drink.”

“Then I’m happy for you. You’re working towards all those things you’ve been telling me about for years. If you haven’t given up yet you probably won’t.”

“Thanks dad,” Greg rubbed his eyes in exasperation, trying to focus on his notes, “It’s been hard, catching up. I’m not as young as I used to be.”

“Don’t you talk to me about not being young, you’ve got your whole life ahead of you. But don’t knock being old either. The men around you all drop like flies so you’ll get your pick of the ladies.” Greg could practically hear his father’s shit-eating grin through the phone, “Some of them even like birds. Marilyn has an African Grey Parrot who sings along to Frank Sinatra. Now Marilyn-”

“Dad.

“You sure you doing wanna here this story?”

“DAD!”

“It’s a damn good story if I do say so myself. What is it Gregory?”

“I miss you.”

“I miss you too son.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a grad student I can personally tell you that academia can be exhausting.


	4. Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you still reading this, thank you :) I do not own Crazy Ex-Girlfriend but I do appreciate all and any feedback.

As much as he hated to admit it, Greg had become a fan of pretentious cafes. Between the soft indie music, the décor, and the wide array of caffeinated beverages, they were a good place to study and unwind. He appreciated the spaces, especially considering the fact that he still didn’t trust himself to go to bars.

Sipping his flat white with his books open, he noticed a familiar face waiting in line. It had been a long time since he had seen anyone from West Covina in person so he tried to look busy in order to any avoid awkward interactions.

“Yo Greg, almost forgot you were in Atlanta. How’s life?” Heather sipped her sweet tea as she sat next to him.

“Oh, hey Heather. I’m good, got a presentation on Monday. What brings you to Atlanta?”

“I’m Miss Douche.”

“You’re not a douche Heather.”

“Not a douche, Miss Douche. I’m the face of feminine hygiene.”

“Right, sorry, there’s a cardboard cut-out of you at the supermarket.”

“Cool. There’s a national convention for feminine hygiene so I was asked to come. It’s great, the hotel I’m staying at has a breakfast buffet. What about you Greg, what have you been up to?”

“School and AA meetings mostly. Been sober my entire time in Atlanta. Now that I can’t go to bars I’ve been coming to coffee shops. I’ve gotten so pretentious.”

“You were always pretentious Greg,” Heather elbowed him and snorted. Almost like a sister would. He missed her.

“So, how’s everything in West Covina? With school It’s been hard to keep in touch with everyone. Only White Josh insists on skyping sometimes, occasionally with Darryl in the background. How can two grown men be so adorable?”

“I know right, I get diabetes just by looking at them,” Heather smirked, “so wait, you don’t know about anything that happened since you left? Not even about the wedding and-”

“Wedding, what wedding?” Greg raised an eyebrow, by the sound of it he had avoided some major drama.

“Oh, okay, I don’t even know where to begin,” Heather blinked, “So Rebecca-”

“Rebecca…” Of course, everything had a way of going back to Rebecca.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heather is so much fun to write.


	5. Rebecca

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whoa, this fic is almost complete. I own nothing and would love feedback before I conclude this story.

He still loved her.

It pained Greg to admit it, but pretending he didn’t love Rebecca was like pretending he never had a problem with alcohol. He still had a picture of her in his wallet. She was cuddling with her giant fish, and when asked, Greg would claim it was the fish he missed. It was a pretty cool fish after all.

But it wasn’t the fish that had Greg spending his Saturday night lurking on social media. It was Rebecca, the beautiful bride who got stood up at her wedding by his best friend who had made a spur-of-the-moment decision to become a priest. A priest. Josh Chan who couldn’t commit to anything had gone and committed his life to the church. He missed Josh, but he didn’t understand him.

And Rebecca, Rebecca was going out a lot. Her social media pages were flooded with pictures of her going out on the town. Rebecca tried so hard to look happy but Greg knew her well enough to know how much being stood up had hurt her. And she appeared to have made genuine friends with Valencia of all people. No doubt the two of them had it in for Josh, Greg wasn’t even sure God could protect him from their wrath. He felt a twinge of pity for his friend, but only a twinge, standing up your fiancé at your wedding was a shitty thing to do.

He left her too. He ran away to school, to build his future. Everything he ever wanted, everything except for her. Could he and Rebecca have stayed together long-distance? Should they have? Maybe calling their relationship a play about pieces of feces wasn’t the best way of saying goodbye to the woman he loved. Good job Greg. Good job.

Thoughts of Rebecca circled in his mind. Greg was just about ready to buy a plane ticket back to West Covina to see her again. So long as it wasn’t with SouthWest, he still had a lifetime ban from the airline.


	6. Himself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit this is my last chapter. I can't believe it. Thank you for sticking with me for all this time!!!!! As always I own nothing of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. I would love feedback on the overall story, this is the first multi-chapter fic I actually ever finished!

“So what’s her name?” Mariyam asked as she poured him a cup tea. It was times like these when Greg was thankful for his motherly neighbour. Both of Mariyam’s children had moved away and her husband often travelled for work, so when Greg moved in she treated him like an extra son.

“Wait, who?”

“Your ex-girlfriend, the one you compared to Jerry Springer, Chernobyl, and Hurricane Katrina. The one you’re worried about.”

“Rebecca. She got stood up at her wedding.” Greg sighed. He left out the part where it was his best friend from kindergarten who had stood her up in order to become a priest.

“That is definitely something to worry about. I’m guessing she’s from your hometown?” Mariyam took a sip of her tea.

“Yes, West Covina. It’s funny you know. My whole life I’ve hated that town. Hated the people. Hated the atmosphere of mediocrity. Then Rebecca comes along, shakes everything up and when I finally got a chance to leave I almost didn’t want to. Part of me wants to go back, there, where she is.”

“Where she is, that’s a good place right now, you do know that.”

“I know, that’s what Brakes, and Barry, and Guardrail say too. Now that I think about it, I never hated West Covina. I hated the person I was there.”

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to hear you say that Gregory.” Mariyam smiled at him proudly.

“But still, Rebecca-”

“I’ve never met Rebecca, but based on everything you’ve told me about her Rebecca doesn’t need a boyfriend. She needs time to heal and come to terms with herself, and possibly some sessions with a therapist. And you, you need to work towards being the person you want to be.”

“You’re right mom-Mariyam, sorry.”

“No problem, now drink your tea before it gets cold.”

Greg obliged and drank the mint tea in his mug. It was a nice change from the coffee he always guzzled. Mariyam was right, the person who needed him most right now was himself. And he was making progress. School was hard but he was surviving, and he had managed to stay sober for several months now. He was becoming someone. Someone he didn’t hate. He still loved Rebecca, and maybe in five years after everything had calmed down he would meet her at the duck pond and discuss their lives. But that was for him in the future. Greg needed to become that person first.


End file.
